Mark My Words

Chapter 5: Awake

“Hey? Young lady? Are you okay?” 

I opened my eyes and noticed that there wasn’t a familiar face around. How could there be when I was in such an unusual country? But there was a voice just a minute ago, and she spoke English. I sat up and looked behind me. It was a clear starry night but I had no recollection of what happened or where I was, for the most part.

“What happened?” I asked. I looked at my bathing suit bottoms. They looked like they had been disturbed during my “slumber”. There was white liquid oozing down my legs. I screamed. “What is this?”

The older woman who had been speaking to me before crouched down and touched my shoulders. “Honey, are you okay? You don’t seem well. I’ll take you to a doctor. Here, have some water.” She removed a bottle from her beach bag. My throat had never felt as dry as it did now ever in my life. I gulped the bottle down.

“I’m okay,” I assured her. But I knew I wasn’t. I felt sick and I wanted to go home. I couldn’t go home. Mexico is far from home- the furthest I had ever been.

“Well back when I was a nurse in the Key West of Florida I saw this all the time. Dehydration. Just make sure you drink up. What were you doing?”

“Walking.” I panted. “I guess I got heat exhaustion or something.”

“I’m glad you’re okay now, though. Where did you come from? I can bring you back. You definitely need a cleaning up.” 

I decided not to tell her where the hotel was. She insisted that she at least pay for a cab. I accepted. On our walk back to civilization, the Floridian nurse told me her entire life story. It was always fascinating to learn about others, in my mind at least.

“Thank you so much, Agatha. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.” I climbed into my cab and waved good-bye to the nice woman. Now I had to focus. First of all, what was all over my legs? I decided not to touch it, but I could feel that it hardened. Maybe I should show Zayn when I get back, I thought.

A half hour later I arrived at the hotel. I wrapped the towel Agatha gave me around my waist and went inside. I practically sprinted to the lift, err, elevator when I ran into Harry.

“Oh my God, there you are!” Harry grabbed his chest and my shoulder. “Where were you?” In a panic Harry accidentally pressed the wrong button to take us back to our rooms.

“It’s a long story,” I started. I lifted up my towel to cover my bare shoulders which were getting chilly from the air conditioned elevator. Harry gave me the up-down and he suddenly got goose bumps. He was going to do it again but he stopped at my legs. His eyes were stuck on my frosted thighs. Frosted with what, though? I cleared my throat. “So if I’ll be telling it again later I might as well say it in front of everyone. You know what I mean?” His gaze didn’t lift one bit. I pressed the button for floor five so we could go back to our rooms and not have to crash with people on the 10th floor like Harry tried to make us do.

I was so happy to get back in my room. Harry followed behind me, his blank expression slowly morphed into a cheeky grin.

“What?” I asked him as I opened the door.

“JORDIN!” Zayn leaped off of his bed and ran up to me. His face was puffy. Niall, Billy, Alex, Louis, and Frankie were all scattered about the room as well. They stood up to look at me. Zayn hugged me tight. I felt so secure in his arms and I wanted to live there. “Did Harry treat you alright? Where were you? What happened? Did you get lost? How’d you get back? Wh-“ He paused and did a double-take at my thighs. “Uh Jordin, is there something you would like to share with us? How about you, Harry?”

Harry threw his hands up. Zayn pushed him against the wall. “What did you do?! You little fucker, you disgust me! Get out. Get out of our room! Damn it Harry, I could kill you. Please tell me this is a fucking joke. For once could you not screw everybody’s life up? LEAVE!” Zayn had his arm pressed against Harry’s neck, his eyes red with rage. Harry didn’t do anything wrong at all, why was Zayn flipping out?

“What’s the matter, lad?” Louis stepped forward as Harry darted out the door. He looked at my legs. “Oh my God. I’ll go talk to him.” Louis dragged Alex and Frankie along with him for back-up. Now it was me, Niall, Billy, and a totally outraged Zayn. He had gone into the bathroom and pounded his head into the door, so I guess you could say it was just me and two Irish boys. 

“You okay there?” Niall bit his lip. “We were all worried sick. Harry left to look down in the lobby for the fifty millionth time. Between us three I think he fancies you.” Billy nudged him in the arm. “What?”

I looked down at my legs, too. I didn’t understand what was so fascinating.

“Jordin, err, I don’t know how to ask you this but…” Niall hesitated. I bit my lower lip and stared right at him. I don’t think that helped. “Errr…”

Billy rolled his eyes and was straight-up with me. “Did you happen to bone Harry tonight?”

My jaw dropped. Flabbergasted doesn’t explain half of my emotion. I mean honestly, I wasn’t that type of girl. I had only had sex once before with an ex-boyfriend, but that was different.

“Excuse me?” I covered my mouth. “Is that what you think is on my leg?”

Billy crinkled his eyebrows. “That IS what it is.”

I started to cry. No, no, no, no, no. This couldn’t be happening, not to me. Zayn busted open the bathroom door and nodded his head at me. “Tell us the truth, Jordin! Tell us what happened.”

“Nothing happened! I promise!”

“I didn’t think Harry could stoop so low. I didn’t know you could even get close to his level.”

“Zayn, I swear, nothing happened, I swear!” At least not that I know of.

Niall tried to defend me. “Ay there, let’s listen to her for a second so we can know the real story.

I told them about everything. About Agatha and the cab, waking up on the beach, my feelings. Everything. All I left out was where this goo came from, because I had no idea.

“Where’s Liam?” I asked. I couldn’t forget all about him. 

“He and Danielle went out for dinner alone maybe a half hour ago.” Billy told me. I wondered if he felt as uncomfortable here as I did, or even more. 

“Oh, that’s nice.” I wished I hadn’t asked.

We all talked a little more and before too long Niall and Billy decided it was time they went to bed. I hugged them both good-bye. It was now just Zayn and me. 

“Jordin, sometimes you are so naïve.”

“How so?”

“I am afraid I have some bad news.”

“Sure you do.”

“I’m beginning to think you were raped.”